Sci Fi Movies This Week: Weekly column tracking what is coming in the current week in the way of sci fi, fantasy, and horror releases as well as news and updates on genre films, streaming and theatrical.
Sci Fi Movie Premieres This Week:
After mega-blockbuster Spider-Man: Brand New Day webbed in quite a few people to the theaters (more on that at this link), this weekend goes another direction with sci fi/fantasy film releases. The modestly budgeted remake Ice Cream Man is the only genre entry hitting wide release, and that should certainly be of interest to horror fans. Hitting VOD earlier this week was Evil Dead Burn, and arriving on streaming are The Yeti (Shudder) as well as the original films Ragebait (ScreamBox) and The Last House (Netflix). You can see highlights for this week below, and you can see the schedule of all the current and upcoming sci fi and fantasy movies at this link.
Ice Cream Man (In Theaters, August 7th): This movie follows an idyllic summer town descending into madness when an ice cream man serves kids sweet delights with horrifying results.
Directed by: Eli Roth
Starring: Ari Millen, Charlie Storey, Karen Cliche, Charlie Zeltzer, Sarah Abbott, Dylan Hawco, Noah Belson, Benjamin Byron Davis
The Last House/em> (Streaming-Netflixx, August 7th): A family of four are suddenly sealed inside their home with no way out, and must work together to survive against both their dwindling resources and the mysterious, looming threat that is keeping them trapped.
Directed by: Louis Leterrier
Starring: Greta Lee, Wagner Moura
Ragebait (Streaming-ScreamBox, August 4th): On Halloween night, a socially parasitic live streamer becomes the target of a malevolent entity after a mysterious viewer curses his stream and forces him to watch a collection of cursed videos from missing content creators.
Directed by: David James Clark,Joe Martinez-Weinberger,Dean Smith
Starring: Tyler Arceneaux, Jack Arden Garrett, Ray Beer
Sci Fi Movie News of Note:
Two horror legends are in the process of teaming up for the first time as Sam Raimi (The Evil Dead) has come onboard an adaptation of Stephen King’s 1996 book Desperation. Following is the logline for the film:
Stranded in a remote desert town where something evil has awakened, a group of travelers must fight to survive when a sadistic, possessed cop turns routine arrests into a relentless fight for their lives.
Raimi will executive produce along with longtime partner Robert Tapert, and The Final Destination team of Zach Lipovsky and Adam B. Stein are in talks to direct the film. This has not moved into production yet, and it will probably be looking at a 2028 premiere at the earliest.
There have been rumors that the sequel to Alien: Romulus will not be going forward, but 20th Century Studios has countered those. Apparently a script has been written by the director of the first film Fede Álvarez, but Ridley Scott seems to have stood in the way of Michael Fassbender returning as the android David. That led to Alvarez dropping out, and it appeared that the movie would not be going forward. 20th Century Studios has since disputed that, so it appears the sequel could still happen at some point. Stay tuned for further updates on this one.
Work has begun on the sci fi film Base Human, with an entry for that one appearing in the latest Production Weekly listings. That is described as s futuristic, earthbound vision of Nigeria focusing on everyday street life and culture rather than a polished space-age utopia. Razaaq Adoti will direct, and the cast includes Hakeem Kae-Kazim, Darryl Vega, and Omotola Jalade Ekeinde. There is no target premiere date at this point.
In additional production news, filming is close to wrapping for the Alex Garland film Elden Ring. That one is based on a mythological tale written by George R.R. Martin that was then adapted into a dark fantasy role-playing game focusing on the Elden Ring, a powerful artifact that has been shattered, plunging the Lands Between into war and chaos. The cast includes Tom Burke, Havana Rose Liu, Sonoya Mizuno, Jonathan Pryce, and Peter Serafinowicz, and this one is targeting a 2028 premiere.
Recent Trailers
The X-Files: I Want to Believe – Vrach Frankenshteyn (Streaming-Disney+/Hulu, August 14th): When a group of women are mysteriously abducted, it becomes a case right out of The X-Files™️. Years after walking away from the FBI, Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dr. Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) are pulled back from the shadows when a federal agent vanishes without a trace. In a case you’d never see on TV, their only lead is a disgraced, defrocked priest claiming to have horrific psychic visions of the crime. Forced to confront the ghosts of their past, the partners must navigate a chilling winter landscape and an even darker human monstrosity. The truth of these crimes is out there somewhere… and it will take Mulder and Scully to find it. The X-Files: I Want to Believe – Vrach Frankenshteyn reimagines creator and director Chris Carter’s original vision in this all-new director’s cut.
Directed by: Chris Carter
Starring: David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, Amanda Peet, Billy Connolly, Alvin ‘Xzibit’ Joiner
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